ZAYIIN GEGEENII KHIID (ZAYIIN GEGEEN MONASTERY)

Lamyn Gegeen, Zayiin Gegeen and Shireet Gegeen lamas are
recognized as a khubilgaan or reincarnation. In the ancient time, Lamyn Gegeen,
Zayiin Gegeen and Shireet Gegeen noticed that the base of the mountain
would be a very auspicious place to build a monastery. But they did not know
who should build this monastery and for whom the monastery should be built. Unable
to decide, they placed their tea bowls in front of them. Whoever could first
make a flower appearance in his bowl would have the honor of building the
monastery. They closed their eyes and meditated. When they opened their eyes
some time later a flower had appeared in the bowl in front of the Zayiin
Gegeen. So they finally agreed that the Zayiin Gegeen should have the honor of
building the monastery.

The monastery is located in front of the
huge granite massif known as Bulgan Uul. It was built in forest of larch and
white birch tree. The area is protected as a nature reserve and is home of
deer, wild boar and bird. It has nine different peaks, each named after one of
the Nine Precious Stones and Metals; gold; silver, bronze, pearl, coral,
turquoise, brass, copper, and lapis lazuli. The first temple of the new
monastery was the Guden Temple was built according to local informants in the
early 1680s. The Right Summer Semchin Temple, directly in front of the Guden
Temple, was reportedly built in 1684 and the Left Winter Semchin Temple shortly
thereafter. In 1710, the Tsogschin Dugan, which became the main temple of the
monastery, was constructed.

Luvsanperenlei, the First Zayiin Gegeen,
apparently lived at Zayiin Khuree full-time after he returned from Tibet. One
of the outstanding scholars of his time, he wrote a massive history of India,
Tibet, and Mongolia, among numerous other compositions. Luvsanperelei served as
one of Zanabazar’s collaborators and teachers. In 1715, the First
Zaya Pandita died and his mummified body sitting in the lotus position was
entombed in a stupa which was eventually placed in the Guden temple. Many more
temples and other buildings were constructed throughout the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries and existing structures underwent extensive renovations in
the 1880s and in 1909-1910. Once in the past, the entire complex covered more
than hundred acres and by the 1920s, Zaiyin Khuree was one of the largest and
most influential monasteries in Mongolia, with over 2000 and eight different
Buddhist colleges. The monastery was also famous for its Tsam dance, religious
dance that was held in July of 1932.

Arkhangai province and particularly its
monasteries were reportedly a hotbed of anti-revolutionary fervor and Zayiin
Khuree soon attracted the attention of the communist government. The Sixth Zaya
Pandita was murdered by the communists in 1932 and eventually most of monastery
with the exception of the Guden Temple, the Semchin Temples and the first
temple built in 1631, was leveled. The Guden Temple was turned into a fire
station and the 1631 temple was made into a small museum. Since the early 1990s
the remaining portions of the monastery complex have undergone extensive
renovations. The winter and Summer Semchins both now serve as well-appointed
museums. In the Semchin Temple to the left, facing the main Guden Temple can be
found the robes of the first Zaya Pandita, musical instruments used by
musicians who entertained the various Panditas and a host of other historical
artifacts. In the left temple of the Guden Temple are the stupas containing the
mummified bodies of both the first and second Zaya Panditas, a portrait of the
first Zaya Pandita painted in 1995 but it is said to be based on an original
done in 1680, a portrait of Jambatseren, the sixth Zaya Pandita, and his wife
or consort, an interesting tanka of the Tavan Khaan or Five Kings and other
items.

The middle temple of the Guden Temple also
serves as a museum and includes a detailed scale model of the whole monastery
as it existed before the 1930s. In the left of the walled compound, Semchin
temples and the Guden Temple can be seen the ruins of the Tsogschin Dugan, once
the main temple of the monastery.